


Heart Eyes

by Purpleforest516



Category: One Direction (Band)
Genre: Blind Niall, M/M, Post-Traumatic Stress Disorder - PTSD, Ziall Ficathon, Ziam Ficathon, larry stylinson - Freeform, one direction - Freeform
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2014-11-28
Updated: 2015-03-03
Packaged: 2018-02-27 08:40:37
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Graphic Depictions Of Violence
Chapters: 4
Words: 6,265
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/2686412
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Purpleforest516/pseuds/Purpleforest516
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>Zayn's kind of whipped and Niall's kind of too blind to see it.<br/>Literally.</p>
            </blockquote>





	1. Unum

Zayn couldn't quite fathom his thoughts into words when his counselor had asked the simple question, "Are you OK?" At first he spent time debating his response, (like he does everyday) because he was, in fact,  nowhere near to being considered _"OK"_ , but then again he could simply lie, and tell her that he was doing alright, considering the circumstances. The, horrible, horrible circumstances. So Zayn stares at her for a moment, squinting his brown eyes as he bites his lip. Zayn was attempting to forget the question so he didn't have to find an answer. "Zayn?" Oh boy, she's switched to her high pitched pity voice. Things were about to get heated, because Zayn was about to get frustrated. Zayn shrugs, digging underneath his nails. "I'm alright." Zayn goes down the lying route."It seems like you say that every day." she goes through her notebook. "And that's the only thing you tend to say..." Oh, damn, he's be caught. Zayn shakes his head, messing with his hair nervously. "I don't have much to say."

At least nowadays, he didn't. Zayn wasn't the talkative one to begin with, but now he stays quiet near the people he used to spill his soul out to. _Like Liam._ Zayn's kind of surprised Liam didn't get disgusted and vanish from Zayn's life like everyone else did because Zayn stopped talking. Liam's still capable of joking around with Zayn with out making the boy angry, or upset in any way. Then there was that time when Zayn was standing in the wake of devastation and destruction when he had received _the news._ That was the day Zayn was gonna jump. He even took the leap, but Liam had snatched his arm and gripped him tight as he raised him away from his certain death.

At first, Zayn was angry, livid, because he was so close to being at peace, and Liam had prevented it. Then Zayn was grateful, and he cried, oh, did he cry into Liam's arms that night.  That's the reason why Zayn's here in the first place.

It was either this, or a mental hospital.

"Well, you _are_ making progress. I can certainly see that." Her name was Nicolette. She was young, possibly a volunteer to do this, since she looked no older than Zayn himself. She was very intelligent, Zayn knew, because he pays close attention to his surroundings. She's got degrees and awards hanging around her reasonably sized office. Her IQ must be higher than 180, at least because she seems to have the potential of being in year twelve at the age of thirteen.

Zayn nods, finally, because according to Liam, progress is good. _And Zayn needs good things._ The session was almost over, and as usual, few words were exchanged between the two. Zayn was actually thankful that Nicolette didn't get frustrated with Zayn's silence like the _other_ psychiatrist had within the first two weeks. He went off on Zayn, calling him ungrateful, and he was, in fact, a terrible psychiatrist to begin with. He would always twist what little words Zayn said around. "I'm OK" would translate to "I'm having suicidal thoughts again." he was just getting Zayn in more trouble. Zayn was at risk of being forced to go to the nut house. He's glad he's got Nicolette now.

Even though there's a very thick chance that the therapy isn't actually helping Zayn at all.

Maybe she's just saying he's making progress, just to reassure him that he's not going to the nut house anytime soon.

"Well, Zayn, we've gotten through the regular routine." Nicolette gets up from her seat, moving swiftly towards her desk. She moves some papers, tidying them up and placing them in a corner.  She then begins to go through the drawers, pulling out an enormous sketchbook and a pencil. "Time to draw." she smiles, and Zayn's eyes light up. He's also thankful she knows and understands Zayn's passion for drawing. She hands the sketchbook and pencil to Zayn, and he takes it from her carefully.

Zayn had to go through this everyday, and it was alright.

 

 

"Was it alright?" Liam asks quietly. "I-I mean, she was nice to you, right?" Zayn glances up at Liam, eyes squinted in amusement. Liam was driving the old pickup truck down the even older road. "I suppose you like her more than that other guy?" Liam assumes, glancing at Zayn. Zayn nods, drawing arrows and flowers in the foggy window. 

It was an exceptionally gloomy day, regardless of the fact that Liam is diseased with everlasting joy and the ability to be amazed by simply anything. It's quite annoying, according to Zayn, especially when Zayn's in a piss poor mood and Liam literally climbs through his bedroom window at two in the morning singing songs from Disney movies. Liam tends to crumple up the bad things and toss them aside, while he takes the good things and present them on Broadway. Liam wants his happiness to be known, and Liam's happiness is contagious.

Thank goodness Zayn is immune.

**A/N: This is awfully short, don't you think? I don't know. I just made this up this morning.~Blue**

 


	2. Duo

"Mr. Horan?" Oh, brother, that abnormally deep voice is back. Niall had hoped he could make his way past him without him taking notice. Niall rolls his eyes, and he's quite certain the man couldn't see it past Niall's sun glasses. Niall stops in his tracks, looking behind him.  
"Hm?" Niall approaches as innocent, but in reality Niall is inexplicably frustrated by this man and by his presence. The man's got a pot belly (yes, Niall knows, he's ran straight into him once before, and literally bounced off and banged his head on the concrete) and is terribly bald (Niall knows this as well, Lou and Hazza had laughed about it for a solid hour) and as a matter of fact, he reminds Niall deeply of an egg (the feel of it, that is)

"You're in quite a hurry."the man mumbles. "Going to see a movie or something?" The man makes some sort of snorting, laughing noise, and Niall was prepared to make a snarky remark, but thinks profoundly against it. "I was actually going to the library." Niall forces a smile, along with a pleased tone.  
"Ha, what are you going to do there?" Niall puts his hands to his temples, letting his walking stick rest against his side. _Braille does exist, asswipe_. Niall thinks. _Be polite, Niall._ He chides to himself. "They've got braille books there, after all." Niall sighs. "Best I get going, though." Because the man was bound to say something else, and Niall was kind of wishing he were deaf so he didn't have to listen to that guys voice whenever they bumped into each other.

There was one reason and one reason only as to why Niall had come this way to get to the library. Any other day he would've gone through the back alley to avoid Eggman, however, any other day Louis or Harry would've been with Niall. They claim it would be dangerous for Niall to go through the back alley alone, him being blind and all. It would be better where he could be seen by the townsfolk and they could assist him if he needed it. Niall isn't mad at them for not being able to walk him three miles to the library, and what happened to Louis was completely uncalled for. His breakouts (and breakdowns) are becoming more and more sudden, and frequent. Harry had to stay in the dusty, crummy apartment and take care of Louis, and Niall, being the stubborn Irishlad he is, refused _not_ to go to the library.

Niall did, in fact, have to brush up on his studies anyways, and if he was going to survive through college, he had to keep up, or be ahead of the game, even.  He approaches the library entrance, and instead of using the ramp, he hops up the stairs. If Lou were here, he'd call Niall quite the daredevil, while Hazza would probably panic, making sure Niall didn't fall or something along those lines. Those two are something else.

Niall  walks through the doors, and Delilah, a very sweet old woman, is sat behind the desk. "Oh, hello Niall!" Delilah says, noticeable excitement in her voice. Niall perks up, sliding off his glasses. "Awh, hello Delilah." Niall smiles, and according to Louis, Delilah would be blushing at this very moment. They go through the same greetings everyday.  
"What are you reading today, dear?" Niall can hear her stacking books, and they sound kind of heavy.  
"We're reviewing the Revolutionary War." Niall folds up his walking stick and slides it into his left pocket. "I don't understand why, though. I've already learned the ups and downs of that war." The bell rings at the top of the door, signalling that there's another visitor.  
"Well, you have to do whatever for such a complicated college."  
"I suppose so." Niall nods at her, and he's certain she waves in return. She always does.

Niall knows this library like the back of his hand, and he goes off towards the largest part, which consisted of shelves upon shelves of books. This was Niall's kinda place. He finds himself in the history section, and he runs his slim, soft fingers along the spines of each book. He adjusts his fingers quickly to where the braille prints are, and stops halfway through the isle. "That one sounds interesting." Niall says to himself, snatching the book from the shelf. He gets himself comfortable on the floor, crossing his legs as he begins to flip through the pages of the thick book. Niall looks down at the book as he runs his fingers of the page. For some reason, it makes him feel more normal when he's actually _looking_ at the book.

Moments pass, and Niall is already several pages in. "Excuse me?" a _very_ familiar voice begins.  
 _Oh for fuck's sake, can I have more than ten minutes alone without someone interruppting my peace?_ Niall thinks. He's tempted to ignore whoever is bothering him. Niall looks up, possibly as a sign of acknowledgement, because he can't really see a damned thing anyways. "Do you happen to know where I can find anything on Leonardo Da Vinci?" Niall sighs. "How ironic it is that you're asking a blind person for directions." Niall grumbles. He shuts the book quietly. He'll remember what page he was on.  
"How was I supposed to know you're blind?" the voice belongs to a young boy, Niall decides. Possibly Niall's age, maybe even older.  
"I'm in the braille section." Niall says, obviously irritated. Niall sighs, leaning back and resting against the shelf. "I apologise. I am simply frustrated with people and annoyed by how this day is going."  Niall points to his left, resting his right elbow on his knee and putting his chin in his hand.

"There's a bunch of Da Vinci shit over there." Niall points out bluntly. "And excuse my French." Niall knows where everything is. Harry showed him everything, and Niall's got perfect memory. "Oh, thank you." the boy says. Niall mumbles a quick "you're welcome" and waits for the boy to walk away.

But he didn't.

Niall didn't hear his footsteps.

"Do you need _something else?_ " the frustration is starting to expose out of Niall.  
"I'm just curious as to why you're looking up the Revolutionary War." the boy replies. Niall groans. _Why won't people leave him alone?_  
"I have to study, if you don't mind." Niall replies.  
"Wait, you're not in college, are you?"

And it hits Niall. _Oh hell,_ he recognizes that damn voice.

"You're in my class." Niall sighs. The boy laughs and Niall's still annoyed. Not as much, so, but still very, very annoyed."I'm Liam." He says it as if Niall is supposed to care. How sweet.  
"Niall." Niall mumbles.  
"I know, you're the only blind kid in the school."  
"Seems like you're the only jackass in the library, too."  
"Well you're here."

Maybe if Niall weren't so blind and if only looks could kill...

"Well in case you were wondering, I'm getting the Da Vinci book for my friend." Liam clarifies. Niall nods, letting the tension disappear a bit.  
"You don't seem like the one to be interested in physics and stuff like that anyways." Niall replies.  
"He's not into that stuff either, he just wants to draw some pictures out of it." Niall looks up, cocking his head to the side.  
"He's an artist?" Niall asks.  
"A damn fine one too." Liam grins. Niall nods, tucking the book under his left arm as he gets to his feet. He could feel the height difference between him and Liam.  
"Uh..." Niall begins.  "There's a book, just down there, about the French and Indian war. " Niall points to the book shelves diagonal from them. "Ha-My friend thinks there's some pretty 'rad' pictures in there." Liam looks to where Niall was pointing, and grins.  
"Alright, I'll check it out. Thanks Niall."

Niall hurries home afterwards, somehow managing to sneak past Eggman, and he pulls out his keys to the apartment. He feels around for the lock, and opens it. "Hazza!" Niall yells as soon as he sets foot in the house. Niall trips over something (what was that, his guitar?) and he flies forward, hitting the wood floor with a thud. Niall clenches his knee, sitting up. "Harry, stop moving stuff around! It's not funny." Niall mumbles. Harry appears seconds later, hand in his hair as he looks around in distress.  
"I'm sorry, Ni." Niall listens to Harry's quicken footsteps, and Niall is suddenly lifted off of the ground. "Are you alright?" Harry pats Niall down, ruffling his hair afterwards.  
"Are you? You sound nervous." Niall points out, rubbing his hands together.  
"I was looking for Lou's pills."  
"And you destroyed the house, in the process, didn't you?" Niall assumes.  
"Yeah..." Niall frowns, holding his arms out as he makes his way towards Louis' room. He trips over something else (pretty sure that was a cat. They didn't have a cat) and leans against the walls before he can hit the floor again.

He says nothing about it, and stumbles into Louis' room. "Hi, Lou." Niall sighs, sort of exhausted.  
"Hi, Ni." Louis replies quietly.  
"How are you doing?"  
"I'm doing alright."  
"Harry destroyed the house." Niall states, leaning against the door frame.  
"I kind of did too." Louis sighs. "I kind of lost it."  
"I could tell. I tripped twice trying to get here."  
"We'll clean it up."  
"Thanks." Niall finishes. "Get some rest, for now, Lou." and with that Niall turns around and heads towards his own room.


	3. Tribus

So it was two in the morning and Louis was screaming his heart out. Harry jolts awake, and he hears Niall release a quick, and loud "Harry!" from his room. Harry stumbles out of his bed, rushing to the room across from him. "Lou-" before Harry can even finish saying the older boys name, Louis lets out another deafening scream, and Harry covers his ears as Niall runs into him, standing beside him as Niall covers his ears as well. "Harry, you have to-" Harry interrupts Niall, pushing into the room.  
" _Niall, I know._ " Harry says sternly. Louis' knees are brought close to his chest, and he's' heaving, eyes shut tight as he pulls at his brown hair. Hot tears are sliding down his cheeks like a water fall, and his blue eyes are wide as Harry stands before him. Harry can't touch him; not when he's like this. Not when he's _this bad._ Instead, Harry takes a seat in front of Louis, staring at him in pity. "Oh Lou..." Harry coos softly, letting his voice travel to Louis' ears, instead of leaning forward. He couldn't get too close either, unless Louis wants him to, and sometimes it's extremely difficult to tell whether or not Louis really wants his help. He could just be mumbling aimlessly, lost in his own, horrific thoughts.

"I'm so sorry, Lou." Harry's not quite sure why he's apologising. Maybe it's because of the pity he's feeling for Louis, or the guilt because he can't actually help him. Louis' trembling, and he's clamped both hands over his mouth, and he's staring at Harry, but _he's not._ "Louis, hey, it's going to be alright. It was just a dream." Maybe that was the wrong thing to say, because Louis was erratic at this point. "It wasn't a dream, it happened, it happened, it happened," Louis yanks and tugs at his hair again, and Harry's kind of glad Niall's blind. He wouldn't want him to see Louis like this. Louis' whimpering like a child now, rocking back and forth as he continues to tug at his hair. Harry would snatch his arms, and pull them away from the boys hair to prevent him from scratching himself or pulling his hair, but that could trigger an even worse panic attack. Harry looks behind him at Niall to make sure the boy is still there, and he certainly is, rested against the thick, white door frame, biting his nails nervously.

Harry turns back to Louis and sighs. "Lou," Harry begins quietly. He can barely hear himself say it. "Lou, can you hear me?" Sometimes when this happens, Louis can hear Harry, but most times he's lost in his own mind, completely unaware that Harry is right in front of him. Louis nods quickly, eyes still forced shut. "It's going to be okay." Harry tries to soothe. "We're here. No one can hurt you anymore." Louis slowly moves his hands from his hair, opening his blue eyes slowly as he looks up at Harry. Tears are still falling from Louis' eyes, and he leans forward and rests his head on Harry's chest, whimpering into his shirt as Harry holds him.

Harry holds Louis until he's sure he's asleep, and he carefully pulls the covers over him. Harry walks up to Niall, sighing. "He's getting worse." Harry mutters. Niall shifts his weight to his left leg, biting his bottom lip. "I know." Niall sighs."Why are the memories suddenly coming back?" Harry frowns.  
"I don't know."  
"Do we need to take him to a psychiatrist or something?" Harry shrugs, and he ignores the fact that Niall couldn't see him do it. Harry's thinking, looking down at his feet as he scratches his arm nervously. "Harry?" Niall says quietly.  
"I-I don't know." Harry repeats as he looks behind him at Louis. "Hopefully not." Harry turns back to Niall, and pats his shoulder. "Get some rest, Ni."

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

There was no point in Harry leaving Louis' room. If Harry were to go to his own room, he'd be possessed by the constant terror that Louis is having another violent nightmare, and that he's trying to deal with his fear alone. Louis Tomlinson doesn't like it when people help him. He thinks he doesn't deserve the help of others, and Harry and Niall had tried on multiple occasions to convince him that it was, in fact, okay to get help from others.

Harry can't seem to get Louis out of bed, and their first class starts in half an hour, and knowing Louis, after nights like that, he'll sit in the shower for twenty minutes and take an extra ten to get dressed. Harry's already out of bed, dressed and refreshed, and he's standing at the edge of the bed, calling Louis' name quietly and softly. Louis is awake, but his body is numb and head in the clouds. He's mentally lost, and has no motivation to even move right now. Days after nights like that always begin like this. "Lou, I know you're tired, but you've already missed four classes and you can't risk missing anymore."  Harry's beside Louis know, squatting close to the ground so he can look up at the older boy. He's lying on his stomach, one hand under his pillow and the other hanging just in front of Harry. His legs are sprawled out, and his blue eyes are barely open. His eyes are pink, along with his nose and cheeks, and his hair is a mess. "Come on, Lou..." Harry pleads.  
"Go away, Hazza." Louis finally speaks, voice hoarse and tired. "I-I don't want to go."  
"I know, Lou, I know." Harry takes Louis' hand into his. "Just come for a while. If you still don't feel good, I'll take you home." Harry hated having to push Louis like this. He was exhausted and traumatized, but if Louis missed anymore days the school could fail him, and Louis would be so distraught when he got his head together. Louis' lips form a frown, and he blinks his eyes to prevent tears from forming. "I'm so tired, Harry." and Harry believed it. It seems that no matter how long Louis sleeps, he wakes up exhausted. Harry nods, tightening his grip on Louis' hand. "I'll carry you." Harry says, and Louis just nods.

Louis rolls onto his back, and Harry puts his arms under Louis' leg and just below his neck. Louis was lifted up with ease, and carried to the bathroom. Harry sets Louis on the counter and makes his way to the shower. "We have about thirty minutes, Lou." And Harry didn't mean to rush him, hell, he didn't even want to make Louis get out of bed. Harry sighs, regretting the fact that he's forced Louis to get up. Louis stumbles off the counter top, and strips off his shirt to expose the scars decorating his back. Harry winces. He always winces when he see's those. Harry hates the fact that someone used to hurt Louis. He's such a loveable person.

Louis seems to forget about Harry's presence completely, because Louis isn't the type of person to show off his "battle" scars." He doesn't like to show people is scars, even Harry, so maybe Louis is just absentmindedly doing whatever at this moment. Any other day, Louis would have freaked out, and Harry would have to apologise for seeing _those things,_ but Louis, Louis' not himself right now. When Louis starts to unbutton his pants, Harry takes that as an invitation to leave, so he turns around and shuts the door quietly behind him.

Niall's waiting silently in the kitchen, sitting on the counter top as he kicks his legs. Niall's already dressed. Harry likes that about Niall. He's glad he doesn't need help getting dressed, except for having either Harry or Louis set out his clothes in the corner the night before. Niall can dress himself, as long as nothing is out of place. "Oh, shoot, Ni, I'm sorry." Harry had completely forgotten to make Niall's breakfast, and he didn't have enough time to make pancakes and eggs. They had to be out the apartment in ten minutes. "Is cereal alright?" Harry asks. He doesn't even wait for Niall to protest because Harry's already pulled out a bowl, a spoon, and the carton of milk.  
"Its Monday." Niall whines. He kicks his heels against the cabinets below him.  
"I know Ni, but I don't have time to make pancakes and eggs."  
"But Harry-" Niall pouts, still completely unaware that Harry has already made Niall a bowl of Lucky Charms (how ironic) He crosses his arms over his chest.  
"We'll just have it for dinner, Ni." Niall sighs, and Harry grabs Niall's hands and puts the bowl in them.  
"Lucky Charms?" Niall asks, bringing the bowl close to his chest.  
"Lucky Charms." Harry confirms.

Niall likes to eat. He really likes to eat, but sometimes he's very picky, however. Like for his cereal, he won't eat it unless it's Lucky Charms or Coco Pops, and either Harry or Louis has to make it for him. Niall tried to pour his own cereal and milk once, and made a huge mess. "Eat quickly, get dressed and be ready. I have to help Lou." Harry orders as he grabs an apple and takes a large bite out of it. "Is he alright?" Niall asks, a mouthful of cereal. He looks up at where he imagines Harry to be, and frowns when he hears the younger boy sigh. Niall swallows a spoonful of food, and sighs. "How bad is he?" Niall didn't want to ask. He was afraid of the answer. Harry's tapping the counter with his long fingers, gripping the bitten apple in his other hand. "I had to carry him to the bathroom." Harry bites the apple, and Niall frowns even more.  
"That bad, huh?" Niall mumbles softly, taking another spoonful of the cereal. Harry nods, realises Niall still can't see him, and mutters a quiet "yes" in return.  
"Okay, Niall, stay here, I need to check on Lou." Harry throws the apple into the trashcan and Niall sighs.  
"Where else am I gonna go...?" Niall huffs as Harry leaves the room.

Harry stops at the bathroom door and knocks on it lightly, not quite sure why he decides to wait for a response. "Lou, I'm coming in." Harry says, and he opens the door soon after. Louis' sat in the shower, and steam is arising. The water must be scorching hot, but Louis seems completely unphased. Harry turns the shower off, and Louis sighs, and looks up at Harry. "Come on, Louis, let's dry you off." Harry helps Louis up by his arm pits, and he makes him stand on his feet. Louis shivers, and wraps his arms around himself as Louis throws a towel over Louis. "I can't do this." Louis whimpers as Harry dries him off. Harry bites his lip, making eye contact with Louis.  
"Yeah, you can." Harry ties the towel around Louis' waist, disappearing into his bedroom for a moment and grabbing him a pair of boxers, a "Vans" T-shirt, his old, black, thick sole pair of vans and some dark skinny jeans. "Go on, get dressed." Harry leads on. "I'll buy you something to eat when we get on campus." Louis nods slowly, and Harry leaves to let him get dressed.  
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Niall liked to learn. He truly, deeply enjoyed learning. There was one class and one class only that he saw as irrelevant, and that was his math class. No one needs to know the factors of a trinomial to find out how much two bags of crisps costs. There was no point in learning this unless your career was going down that track with such detail. History, however, was definitely Niall's favourite. Learning about his ancestors? Hell yeah. Learning about the evolution of Europe? Let's do it. Studying the Cherokees? Totally worth it. Harry sits beside Niall, Louis beside him. They're sat in the first row, Niall in the far corner with his braille typewriter. The three boys are always the first ones there in the learning hall, that way Niall can get the perfect seat; away from people he doesn't know, but also in the perfect view of the teacher. Someone else, two people, Niall figures, take a seat directly behind Niall, and Harry says something to Louis.

Someone taps Niall's shoulder, and he was mentally preparing himself to go off, because people tap his shoulder all the time in the halls, because they know Niall will end up looking in the wrong direction, and being left completely _blind._ Niall opens his mouth, but the other person speaks first. "Hey, Ni?" Right, it's Liam. Niall laughs.  
"Liam?" Niall turns himself around in his seat. "Hey,"   
"Hey," Liam replies, grinning. He nods at Louis and Harry, and Louis eyes him carefully, why Harry looks directly at Liam's friend.

He's a mysterious figure, eyes narrow and hair as black as a ravens feathers. He's got a light grip on the pencil in his right hand, and there's a sketchbook on his desk. It seems like he's looking down, but it's kind of easy to tell...

He's staring at Niall.


	4. Quattuor

Liam talked, and talked, and talked to Harry that half hour before their lecture began. Zayn listened, rather than spoke of course, because he didn't have much to say in the first place, and his opinion was obviously not necessary in the conversations that were arising between Harry and Liam. Zayn noticed the way Harry spoke, as if he were confident and unsure and certain all at once. Hand gestures and on and off eye contact was made throughout Harry's stuttered out sentences and Liam's quiet chuckles and awkward moments where he absentmindedly took apart his papers and put them back together again in two swift motions. Harry's friend, Louis, Zayn thinks that's what his name is, must've noticed the way Harry spoke towards Liam, as if he were astonished to be breathing the same air as the guy.

Zayn tried to ignore the fact that Liam had suddenly gotten so nervous in such a short time span as well. Yes, Zayn's well aware the Liam only does that when he's speaking to (or at least relatively near) an attractive person, and Liam tries to hide that nervousness by talking. _A lot._ Liam, has in fact admitted that Zayn's very attractive (incredibly attractive, as a matter of fact) but he couldn't quite deal with himself if he started liking his best friend, so, that is the only reason why Liam doesn't "lose his shit" when he's around Zayn. They've known each other since before school, and Liam's the kind of guy that's careful with his friendships. If he fucks it up, he'll spend an eternity to fix it. He just doesn't let things go. Keeping his friends as friends is probably one of the most important things to him. He did, in fact, save Zayn's life, in multiple different ways, and that horrific night where he saved Zayn was the first time he saw Liam cry, because Liam _never_ cries. Zayn isn't much of a crier either. He does his absolute best to contain all his feelings (whether they're good or bad) inside. It's a dangerous habit to have gotten used to, and Zayn himself knows this, but it's very difficult to break old habits.

"H-Hey uhm..." a voice begins. _That's an Irish accent._ Zayn figures, looking up from his unfinished work of art. Blue, almost completely white, eyes stared back at him. Well, not really stared... A head of blond hair was extremely messy, and the boy, oh yes, his name was Niall, was running a hand through it absently in an attempt to fix it. "You're Zayn, yes?" Niall sounded nervous, possibly afraid that he was looking in a direction that was nowhere near where Zayn was. Zayn's chest clenches, and his heart attacks the inside of his chest with a hammer. Butterflies soared through his stomach as his face immediately flushed red. Zayn turned to Liam for assistance, but he was lost in his own world, chatting up a tornado with Harry. "Y-yeah." Zayn says ever so quietly. "A-and you're Ni-all." The stutter was unbearable. _Embarrassing._ Zayn let out a quick and quiet sigh, hoping Niall didn't mind the weird mutter and stutter combination. Niall nods, lips curling up into a smile. "I don't really hear you talk much." Niall begins, and as a matter of fact, Niall's never heard Zayn talk before. Zayn shakes his head, biting his lip nervously. "You're quiet," Niall continues.  
"I hope you don't mind..." Zayn says softly, and Niall chuckles.  
"Uhm, I'm blind. I hope _you_ don't mind." Niall says playfully, motioning to his eyes. He blinks softly, lips curling up to a delicate grin.

Zayn notices the hurried glance that Liam gives him, biting his lip habitually as he turns back to Harry. Liam seems more stiff as he talks, eyes glancing at Niall and back to Harry in unnoticeable motions. Zayn sighs, kind of annoyed at how intent Liam was about Zayn's safety. "And besides," Niall's voice almost makes Zayn jump. Zayn had completely forgotten that Niall was sat in front of him,  hands folded sloppily on the back of his chair as he faced Zayn, a wide grin on his face. "Being blind and all gives me like, two times better hearing." Zayn smiled a bit, and Niall did as well. A calming silence arises before the two, while Harry and Liam continue to chat, and Louis continues to scribble notes down from his raggedy old hand-me-down text book. "I hear you like to draw." Niall suddenly says, pulling some chipped parts on his finger nails. "I mean, I obviously can't see your work..." Niall pats Zayn's desk lightly, directly onto his sketch book. "But I kinda just know you're amazing at it." And Zayn's heart is beating so hard and his smile is so wide and he had slipped his green mechanical pencil in between is lips as a nervous instinct, and he had been praised. And that's all Zayn really wants these days, considering the circumstances. Liam notices how Zayn is beaming, and he grins a bit himself, glad to see his friend smiling again.

The doors squeak open, and the boys immediately go silent. The first group of students for the lecture were finally here, and the boys awkwardly went back to minding their business. Louis was whispering to Niall quietly what he had to write for the notes, and Niall was effortlessly typing it on his braille type writer. At least one hundred students were in the lecture hall in the time span of fifteen minutes, and their teacher wasn't quite here yet. Students, of course, talked at their leisure, some were on phones, typing ferociously on their iphones, while others copied notes or simply ate food. 

As soon as the double doors opened one last time and their teacher walked in, everything shut down.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

 "Hey, we're going down to Nando's for lunch." Harry pats Niall on the shoulder, using his thumb to motion towards Liam and Louis. "You're gonna come right?" Niall bites his lip, shrugging. He feels around until his can grip Zayn's soft hoodie, and he notices how the boy casually moves out of Niall's reach to avoid his touch. "Zayn's coming too right?"  
"I-I don't want to come." Zayn admits quickly. "S-Sorry." Zayn looks down at his feet, fidgeting with his fingers. Liam is making his way towards the boy, and Niall huffs quietly. He really wanted Nando's, When does he _not_ want Nando's? He also doesn't want to leave Zayn alone, however. "You're not gonna come along, Z?" Zayn shakes his head slowly. "I'll just go home, yeah?" Zayn whispers. Liam frowns, shaking his head.  
"I can't leave you alone." Liam reminds.  
"I'll stay with him." Niall buds  in. Louis lets out some sort of scoff of disbelief from where he's standing behind Harry. "I mean, I don't really wanna go to Nando's." Harry and Louis laugh together, and Harry shakes his head. "Niall Horan doesn't want to go to Nando's?" Niall just shrugs, and the boys go silent.  
"He can't be alone." Niall nods at Zayn. "I can't be alone. We'll just stay together. Go down to the library or something."

Liam glances at Harry, kind of debating it. Harry looks at Louis for approval, and the older lad nods hesitantly. "Z, you're cool with staying with him?" Liam points at Niall, and Zayn nods with a faint smile. "I'm fine with it." Zayn says under his breath. "I don't mind."   
"It's settled then. You two have fun. Don't die." Louis groans, grabbing Harry's arm as he leads Liam and Harry away.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

The two boys settle down at the park, where the reflected beautifully off the grass and the wind rustled the leaves on the enormous trees gently. They were relaxed under a tree, Niall rather close to Zayn. "It's beautiful out here, isn't it?" Niall asks quietly. Zayn nods, mumbling a quiet "yes" "Damn shame I can't see it." Niall laughs, running his hands through his messy hair.

"How long have you known Liam?" Niall suddenly asks, and he notices how Zayn hesitates to answer the question.  
"M-My whole life, basically." The words leave Zayn's lips gently, and he doesn't exactly look at Niall as he speaks. "Everyone was mean to me, but he never was, so we became friends. I-I think he's my only friend." Zayn looks at the light green blades of grass that surrounded the two lads, and he sighs.   
"Hey, I'm your friend too." Niall says confidently, face flushing red as he beams.

And Zayn just stares at him in awe.

"I'm your friend?" Zayn sounds shocked, obviously, and Niall can't help but laugh.  
"Yeah. You seem like a pretty rad guy."  
"But... I haven't been talking too much."  
"I haven't been seeing too much either." Niall sticks out his tongue from his own humour. Zayn noticed how Niall seemed to joke about his own disability so casually. Niall cocks his head to the side, smiling, teeth and all. "We're friends now. That means you can finally unleash all the blind jokes you have up your sleeve without making me mad." Zayn hesitates at first, then whispers, "You wouldn't even see them coming." And Niall bursts into a fit of laughter.  
"You've got the hang of it." Niall chuckles. And there are butterflies in Zayn's stomach and his heart is clenching, but not exactly in a bad way. He can't stop smiling like the idiot he is, and he's pulling up grass with his hands as he watches Niall intently.

This is going to be a bit interesting.

 

 


End file.
